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The Jackel fictional 1963 assassian
The Day of the Jackel was a 1971 fictional thriller by English journalist/author Frederick Forsyth Summary French and English Securtiy forces try to stop a assassian from killing French President Charles de Gualle. Plot In the summer of 1963 a group of French Officers are so angered by DeGalle's decision to have France withdrawl from Algeria that they hire a professional Assassian to kill De Galle and being a about a coup de taut. The Killer name is never revealed is an Englishman in his early thirties with blond hair and a perchant for Striped shirts; sunglasses, cigerettes and cold gray emotionless eyes. He undertakes very Professional and expansive "Jobs" on behalf of his "employers."-so much so that he can afford to live in a very expansive section of London Mayfair and keep a few thousand pounds currency in a safe deposit box. He is also a Master of Disguise; able to speak French; can kill with his bare hands. In both the book and the 1973 movie there are hints of the professional "jobs" he has undertaken: a hand in the killing of Trujillo in the Domenican Republic; Patrice Lummamba in the Congo; two neonazi scientists in Egypt. He tells his latest "employers" his motavations are quite frankly mercenary for the money he receives; he also warns them that should they be tempted to either betray or refuse his "fee" he till track them down and kill them. He has three conditions: $500,000 for the job {1/2 half before and after]; total security from his employers; his code name will be "Chackel" in French. Another conditions he has is that of a "source" from within De gaulle s govt-so he can check the progress if French Security ever learns of him or his mission; should any of his "employers" be caught or killed then he can "withdraw" from the "contract". After researching his "query" He selects a day for the "Job"along with a British passport under the name of a deceased person-along with two stolen passports US and the other Danish. In Belgium he commissions a custom made snipers rifle from a professioanal underworld gunsmith and a set of forged French ID papers In order to get the papers he gives his own real but soon to be expired Drivers license to a Forger; the man makes the papers but tries to blackmail the assassian who kills him. Despite his precautions he finds from his "source" that the French security forces have kidnapped one of his Employers bodyguards and after giving him the "Third Degree" have accidently learned of the bare essentials of the Plot. Despite this setback he goes ahead with his plans -in the process he uses his "chameleon" personality to charm an aristocratic woman in order to provide him with a hideout-he soon kills her when she accidently finds his rifle. Detective Lebel who has on the trail of the Jackel twice missing capturing the "Jackel" taps the phones of all the security funcionairies and finds the leak Foolish Colonel who spouts secrets to his mistress. Near the end of the book with an Open manhunt out for him for killing the aristocrat woman he again uses his "Chameleon" personalyt on a homosexual man whom he kills to again provide him with a hideout. Detective Lebel realizes the Jackels plan..he will kill DeGualle on the French Liberation Day Anniversayry August 25..the one day when De Gaulle will be in public. The Jackel disuises himself as a one legged war veteran and after knocking unconscious the elderly female coincerge, sets himself for the "kill." Lebel checking at the last minuite finds about the one legged man with a steel crutch and realzing who the Jackel is disguised as-he takes a policeman tries to stop the Assassian. They are a minuite too late...the "Jackel" fires at DeGualle but has forgotten one little fact..that DeGualle has the French Custom of kissing another persons cheek...as a result the bulet misses. Lebel and the Policeman breaj open the door; the Jackel kills the officer with his second spare bullet and is just putting in the third and last bullet when Lebel kills him with the officers machine gun. The Jackel is buried in a public grave annoyamious "John Doe"; in England Scotland Yard special Branch is about to clean out the apartment of the man they suspect is the Jackel- a man named Charles Cathrop...who turns out to be very much akive. In Both the book and the 1973 movie the British authorities are puzzled: "If the Jackel wastn Calthrop, then who the hell was he?" Trivia In 1973 a English-French movie was made based on the novel with actor Edward Fox as the "Jackel"; there are several differences: *In the book the Jackel Acquires his rifle and false papers in Belgium; in the movie he aquires them in Genoa Italy. *In the movie, the Jackel is involved in a car accident while riding to the Baroness Chateau; he places the dead driver in his own wrecked car the steals the second car; what is not explained is how he gets the car from a dangerous german shepard dog in it! *In the book the woman is killed after she accidently finds his sniper rifle; in the movie she is killed after she admits the Police had questioned her about him. *In the novel the Jackel served as a mercenary with a Belgium contingent during the Congo wars; the only person who knows his real identity and who helped him find the Forger is a Criminal boss Named Louis; this subplot was not used in the movie. The fact that he has had his training with a mercanery contigment in a non-European land-could explain why neither the UK or French goverments have a miliary record of him the Brtish armed services or the French Foreign Legion. *Another subplot in the novel not used in the movie is that the "Jackel" realizes that it would only be a matter of time before DeGualle azengers would be on his trail-so as a getaweay would leave him a millionaire..he plans to "retire" to Beirut Lebanon! *One plot hole in the novel is that after his employers learned the French Security apparatus know of the plot, they try to call him at his London apartment towarn him but are not successful;the French Scurity Forces suspect these officers are his "employers" and have them under survaiallance -yet they do not take the simple precaution of monitoring their outgoing phonecalls..and thus have a "real" clue to the Jackels identity. *Another Plot hole in the novel and movie is that despite being wanted in a open manhunt the jackel is buried as a anonymous tourist killed in a car accident; a more logical way would have have been a bland public announcement of having him killed by Police for killing the baroness and then a policeman who tried to arrest him; of course that way the twist ending of the Jackel being forever an unknown..wouldn't have been more suspencful for the readers of the book! * A teaser in the book tells of how after a recreation of a real assassian attempt on de Gaulle life is the words that De Gualle would pass away from Natural causes-in other words despite the jackel metritious planning..De Gualle will not fall victium to an assannsin bullet! * In 2007 this movie was made with Bruce Wills as the "Jackel" in which the storyline is changed-he is an American ex-soldier who is hired to kill the wife of the President of the United States!